Rocket launcher and sight



June 23, 1964 P. v. cHoATE ETAL 3,138,064

ROCKET LAUNCHER AND SIGHT 3 Sheets-Shea?I 1 Original Filed Nov. l5, 1961 June 23, 1964 P. v. cHoATE ETAL 3,138,064

ROCKET LAUNCHER AND SIGHT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 13, 1961 June 23, 1964 P. v. cHoATE ETAL 3,138,064

ROCKET LAUNCHER AND SIGHT Original Filed Nov. 13', 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. I3

INVENTORS CHARLES B WEEKS Y PAUL V. CHOATE amm,

ATTQRN EY United States Patent O 3,138,064 RGCKE'I LAUNCIMR AND SIGHT Iaul V. Choate, Milton, and Charles E. Weeks, Reading,

Mass., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Hesse- Eastern, Inc., Everett, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Original appiication Nov. 13, 1961, Ser. No.. 151,894., Divided and this application Jan. 22, 1963, Ser. No.

The present invention relates to launchers for rockets and particularly to such launchers that are adapted to be manufactured at relatively low cost and to be easily carried and effectively used by an infantryman against a tank or fortified position and to combinations of rockets with such launchers and to combinations of sights and such launchers. This application is a division of our co-pending application, Serial No. 151,894, filed November 13, 1961.

The general objective of the invention is to provide such a launcher and this objective is attained by providing a launcher comprising a barrel consisting of first and second tubular sections interconnected to telescope between a shortened inoperative position and an extended operative position. The firing pin and ring spring are carried by the iirst section that constitutes the breech end of the launcher and the trigger mechanism is carried by the second section that constitutes the muzzle end of the launcher and is connected to the tiring pin by an element attached to the second section. A trigger controlled release, which includes a scar, is carried by the second section. A member is connected to the element and is movable into and out of its engagement with the Sear. The engagement of the movable member with the scar is ineffective to move the tiring pin into its cocked position in the inoperative position of the launcher, the cocked firing pin position then being established by the extension of the sections to establish said operative launcher position.

Another objective of the invention is to have sights that enable the launcher to be used with maximum accuracy and the rear sight and the front sight are both in protected, inoperative positions while the launcher is in condition to be carried. Both sights are carried by the second or muzzle section of the launcher and are self-erecting.

In accordance with this objective, the rear sight is pivoted to swing rearwardly and downwardly from an erect position of use against the action of an erecting spring into an inoperative position in parallel with the axis of the launcher sections. The breech or first section has a forwardly opening housing which receives and holds the free end of the rear sight when in its inoperative position, as the sections of the launcher are telescoped to reestablish its inoperative position.

The front sight is connected to the muzzle end of the first section by a spring hinge to swing transversely of the muzzle and is held in that position as by a muzzle or front cover connected to a breech or rear cover by a resilient connector includinfy an adjustable carrying sling. The rear cover is locked to the breech end of the launcher by a release pin. The user has but to pull the release pin and free the rear cover. The front cover and connector then fall free of the launcher and the front sight erects itself. The user then pulls the breach or first section rearwardly relative to the muzzle or first section to extend the launcher into its operative position with the rear sight erecting itself and the firing mechanism becoming cocked. Releasable means are provided to interlock the section in the operative launcher position.

,4 In the accompanying drawings there is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention from which these 3,13864 Patented June 23, 1964 ICC and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the rocket launcher in its shortened, inoperative position,

FIGURE 2 is a like view of the rocket launcher in its extended, operative position,

FIGURE 3 is a section, on an increased scale, taken approximately along the indicated lines 3-3 of FIG- URE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary section, on an increased scale, through the firing pin housing and the rear of the breech section to show a projectile locked therein against unintended forward movement,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary View of the muzzle end of the second launcher section with the front sight shown in its erected position,

FIGURE 6 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 6 6 of FIGURE 5,

FIGURE 7 is a vertical section through the trigger mechanism housing,

FIGURE S is an exploded view showing the main parts thereof in perspective,

FIGURE 9 is a section taken vertically through the rear sight,

FIGURE 10 is a front view of the rear sight with its cap removed,

FIGURE l1 is a view of the breech end of the launcher with the rear cover in place,

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary elevational view of the undersurface of the launcher showing certain details of the connector for the covers,

FIGURE 13 is an elevational view of a lock for holding a rocket against forward movement, and

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary, horizontal section through the tiring pin housing showing the lock against accidental rearward movement of the tiring pin.

In accordance with the invention, a rocketlauncher comprises first and second tubular sections 20 and 21. The section 2i) is the breech section and slidably lits within the section 21 which is the muzzle section and is shorter than the latter so that its forward end presents an annular shoulder 22.

The section 2li has at least one lengthwise diametrically opposed, groove 23 which terminates short. of its ends and receives a pin 24 extending through an opening 25a in the band 25 on the rear end of the section 11. The pin 24 is fixed to the rear end of an arm 26 whose forward end is urged outwardly by a spring 27 backed by the mount 28 to which the arm 26 is pivoted as at 29, see FIGURE 3. At the forward end of the mount 28 there is a pivot 30 supporting a release 31 yieldably urged. by a spring 32 to position its shoulder 33 under the arm 26 to block its movement against the action of the spring 27 thus to prevent the pin 24 from moving outwardly under the load exerted thereon during firing. The spring `32 also urges the end of the release 31 upwardly between the forked ends 26a of the arm 26 so that on manual engagement, the shoulder 33 is moved forwardly out of its position in which movement of the arm 26 is blocked. A thin strip 34 is attached to the arm 26 and overlies the release 31 so that when the forward portion of the boot 35, sealed to the tube 21 to prevent leakage, is pressed inwardly, disengagement of the release 31 and actuation of the arm 26 will result to move the pin 24 outwardly. When the launcher sections 20 and 21 have been pulled apart to thernaximum extent, the spring actuated pin 24 enters into a depression 23A at the front end of the groove 13 thus to lock the rocket sections in their extended position as is necessary for use of the launcher while permitting them to be released so that the rocket sections may be again telescoped. An O-ring 36 is located between the band 25 and the band 37 fast on the rear end of the rocket breech section 20.

The upper surface of the section 21 also is provided witha generally indicated, trigger mechanism housing 38,

and between the rearmost band 39 and the band 25 thereY is a channel 40 `on the lower surface of the section 21. An arm 41 is pivotablyco-nnected Vto the rear of the channel 40, supporting, at right angles, the rear cover 42 which is provided with a compressible seal face 43 and adjacent which there are transversely disposed channels 44, see' FIGURES l and 11.

In practice, a cover 45 having a compressible seal face 46 for the muzzle end of the section 21 has a yoke 47 pivotally connected thereto at diametrically spaced zones and vdimensioned so that it may straddle the muzzle end with its closed end against or close to the section 21. A metal strap 48 is pivoted to the yoke 47 and connected to a rear section 49 by a resilient section consisting of parallel springs 50. The rear section 49 has a hook 52 disposed to be caught in the channels 44. The covers 42 and 45 are thus tensioned against the breech and muzzle ends of the inoperatively positioned launcher section and locked in that position by providing the cover 42 with an apertured tab 53 fitting over a rearwardly disposed projection 54 of the firing pin housing cover 54a. The projection 54 has a transverse bore which receives the keeper pin 55. An adjustable carrying sling 56 is attached to the yoke 47 and to the rear section 49 of the connector.

With this construction, the rocket launcher may be conveniently carried in its shortened, inoperative position and quickly prepared for use by pulling the pin 55 and disengaging the cover tab 53 from the projection 54 and swingingthe rear cover away therefrom. The front cover 45, the strap 48 and its sections 49 and 50 fall free while the rear cover 42 swings downwardly out of the Way. The launcher sections may then be extended for use as by holding the section 21 with one hand and pulling the section by means of the loop 57 carried'by the band 37 until the pin 24 interlocks the sections when the operative launcher position is established, as above described.

The band 37 supports a -forwardly extending housing 58 which is spaced so as not to interfere with movement of the section 21. A receiver 59, having a forwardly disposed opening, is mounted on the housing 58. In the inoperative position of the launcher sections, the receiver 59 houses the end of a generally indicated rear sight 60 which is pivoted as at 61 between arms 62 of a mount 63 attached to the rear of the housing 38 and urged into an erect position by a spring 64 against a stop 65 which lche rearward edge of the mount 63 provides. As the rocket sections are extended, the rear sight 60 is freed to erect itself into its position of use.

It will be noted that there isa band 66 adjacent the front end of the section 21. The band 66 has spaced ears 67 for the pivot 68 of a generally indicated front sight 69 which is biased upwardly into an erect position of use by the spring 69a. The front sight 69 includes a mount 70 which receives the pivot 68 and carries a clear plastic sheet 71 and a seal 72, the pivot enabling the front sight to be pivoted forwardly into its inoperative position. The front sight 69 in its inoperative position, see FIGURE 1, has its sheet 71 held by the front cover 45 within the muzzle end of the section 21, which is notched as at 73 for that purpose, the space, when the sight is so positioned, being sealed by the seal 72. When the front cover 45 falls free, as above described, the spring 69a erects the front sight 69, with the mount 70 seated against the section 11 to provide a positive position of use.

It will be noted that the sheet 70 has a central vertical line 74 with vertically spaced, transverse graduations 75 marked thereon and that the target is visible therethrough, the graduations 75 decreasing in length as the indicated 4 target distance increases. Markings 76 are also provided to assist the firer in leading moving targets.

The rear sight 60, see FIGURES 9 and l0, is shown as consisting of a member 78 `of U-shaped cross section and having upper and lower openings 79 and 80, respectively. A strip 81 is clampedlthcreto as by bolts 82 passing through anchoring strips 83 with the strip 81 having vertically disposed slots 84 enabling the strip 81 to be adjusted vertically relative to the channel 78. The strip 81 is provided with a pair of sight holes 85 and a pair of transverse, detent slots 86. A slide 87 is carried by the channel 78 and has a resilient detent arm 88 engageable with either slot 86 to then bring its slot 89 into registry with the appropriate one of the sight holes 85. In practice, the upper end of the sight is protected by a protective, safety rubber cap 90 having alined windows 91 in its front and back walls and used to prevent any chance of the user being injured by contact with the rear sight 60 While sighting and firing the launcher.

The rear sight 60 is important to accuracy when its projectile, the generally indicated rocket 92 is powered by solid fuel as variations in performance result with the temperature. A higher trajectory is attendant cold weather so that the upper sight hole 85 is then used.

It will be noted that the rocket 92 has an intermediate shoulder 93 engageable with the shoulder 22 and thereby held against rearward movement, and that its rear part, see FIGURE 4, including its folded, pivoted ns 94, which are urged outwardly in flight by springs 95, is housed wholly by the section 20. In practice, it is desirable to prevent the rocket 92 from moving forwardly unless fired. To that end, see FIGURES 4 and 13, a lock 96 is provided that is apertured at 97 to be anchored by an attached iin 94. The lock 96 is formed from a metal strip and has an intermediate twist 98 so that the rear end 99 may pass through a slot 100 in the rear cover 42, the rear end 99 having a stop 101 engageable with the rear cover 54a of the firing pin housing 58. In practice, the keeper pin 55, for locking the rear cover 42, includes a parallel pin `55a for entry through the hole 99a in the exposed lock end 99. When the pins 55 and 55a are removed, the launcher may be extended into its operative position and while the rocket is secured by the lock 96 in its launcher against forward movement, the thrust of its ignited charge is great enough to readily bend the lock 96 and its stop 101 thus to free it.

It will be noted from FIGURE 4 that the housing 58 receives the cap 102 of a projectile igniter whose tube 103 extends downwardly through a passage 104 for connection with the main igniter of the motor (not shown) of the rocket 92. A firing pin 105, which may best be seen in FIGURE 4, is urged forwardly in a bore 106 by a spring 107, held within the housing 5S, and the forward end of the pin is connected to a cable 108 extending forwardly into the trigger housing 38 where it passes over an element 109 in the form of an idler roller, see FIG- URES 7 and 8. The cable 108 is fastened to a reel 110 rendered self-winding by means `of the springs 111. The firing pin 10S is shown as having its rear end, a taper 105:1 and a contact portion 10511 at its extremity for striking the igniter cap 102.

The roller 109 is confined in transversely alined guideways 112 in the housing 38 each having an inturned flange 113 overlying a slidable roller guide 114 for the slidable cocking actuator 115. The cocking actuator has ears 116 for engaging the roller 109 and is moved forwardly against the action of its return spring 117 by means of the rod 118 which passes forwardly through the seal 119 and provided with a grip 119:1 for manual engagement by the user. The forward end 120 of the guide 114 and of the guideways 112 and the ears 116 are upwardly inclined so that in its forward position, the roller 109 is raised ahead of and blocked against rearward movement by the seal 121 which is pivoted at 122 adjacent its rear end. It

will be noted that the actuator 115 has a transverse pin 11511 between the shoulders 114a of the guide 114 by which the guide 114 is moved forwardly slightly to permit the positioning of the roller 109 ahead of the sear 121 and by which the guide 114 is again moved forwardly when the grip 11% is released to permit the spring 117 to operate.

The forward end of the sear 121 is connected as at 123 to trigger 124 pivoted at 125 between its ends and covered with a protective, waterproof boot 126. When the rearward portion of the trigger 124 is depressed, the sear 121 is raised to release the roller 109 which is then driven rearwardly by the tiring pin spring 107 unless the safety 127 is in its rearward position blocking sear movement. The safety 127 has a pull rod 128 extending through the seal 119 and terminating in a handle 129. In practice, a detent 130 is provided yieldably resisting movement of the safety 127 from either of its positions.

The length of the cable 108 is such that when the launcher is extended into its operative position with the roller 109 in the position illustrated by full lines in FIG- URE 7, the tiring pin 105 is not moved to load the firing pin spring 107. lf, however, the roller 109 is retained forwardly, in its dotted line position, by the sear 121, when the launcher is thus extended, the length of the cable is such that the firing pin spring 107 becomes fully loaded and the ring pin 105 is moved forwardly relative to the rear section into its cocked position. It is possible that should the roller 109 be in its full line position seated against the cooking actuator ears 116, it could be pulled forwardly manually but the spring 107 is of such strength that the risk of the actuator rod 118 slipping from the users grasp, with a consequential accidental release of the ring pin 105, is great.

Such an accident is prevented by means of a removable locking pin 131 which is inserted in a bore 132 in the ring pin housing 38, see FIGURES 4 and 17. The pin 131 has a pivoted end 133 so that it is operative to engage the taper 105a and to force the firing pin 105 forwardly. The pin 131 is also provided with an annular groove 134 which receives the end of the pin 105 so that it becomes locked against removal until the firing pin 105 is in its cocked position which, as above indicated, is possible only when the launcher is in its extended, operative position.

We claim:

1. In a rocket launcher, first and second tubular sections connected to telescope between a shortened, inoperative position and an extended, operative position, one end of said first section being the breech end of the launcher, means for firing a rocket positioned in said launcher, a sight, a spring hinge connection between said sight and said second section, the axis of said connection being at right angles to the launcher axis thus enabling said sight to be folded rearwardly approximately in parallel with the launcher axis and self-erecting from that position, and said rst section including a forwardly open chamber disposed and dimensioned to receive and hold said sight in said position in the shortened inoperative launcher position, said sight being freed therefrom when said sections are extended to a predetermined extent.

2. 1n a rocket launcher, first and second tubular sections connected to telescope between a shortened, inoperative position and an extended, operative position, one end of said first section being the breech end of the launcher, means for tiring a rocket positioned in said launcher, a front sight, a spring hinge connection between said sight and said second section adjacent the muzzle end thereof, the axis of said connection being at right angles to the launcher axis thus enabling said sight to be folded transversely of said muzzle end and self-erecting from that position, a pair of end covers, a strap having lengthwise elasticity and including a connection with each of said covers, the connection between said strap and said breech end covers being a hook detachably caught on the edge thereof, a pull-pin between said breech cover and said first section opposing the strap resiliency in a zone of said breech cover diametrically opposite to its connection with said strap, said sight being freed when said pull-pin is removed and said breech cover is open thus to free said strap and said muzzle cover.

3. In a rocket launcher, first and second tubular sections connected to telescope between a shortened, inoperative position and an extended, operative position, one end of said first section being the breech end of the launcher, means for firing a rocket positioned in said launcher, a front sight, a spring hinge connection between said sight and said second section adjacent the muzzle end thereof, the axis of said connection being at right angles to the launcher axis thus enabling said sight to be folded transversely of said muzzle end and self-erecting from that position, a pair of end covers, and a detachable connection holding said end covers in place, said sight being freed when said connection is detached to free -said end covers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,345,801 Ferrel Apr. 4, 1944 2,353,885 Fanger et al July 18, 1944 2,456,812 Blacker Dec. 21, 1948 2,966,827 Harvey n `lan. 3, 1961 2,972,933 Gutherie Feb. 28, 1961 3,056,352 Vilbajo Oct. 2, 1962 

2. IN A ROCKET LAUNCHER, FIRST AND SECOND TUBULAR SECTIONS CONNECTED TO TELESCOPE BETWEEN A SHORTENED, INOPERATIVE POSITION AND AN EXTENDED, OPERATIVE POSITION, ONE END OF SAID FIRST SECTION BEING THE BREECH END OF THE LAUNCHER, MEANS FOR FIRING A ROCKET POSITIONED IN SAID LAUNCHER, A FRONT SIGHT, A SPRING HINGE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID SIGHT AND SAID SECOND SECTION ADJACENT THE MUZZLE END THEREOF, THE AXIS OF SAID CONNECTION BEING AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE LAUNCHER AXIS THUS ENABLING SAID SIGHT TO BE FOLDED TRANSVERSELY OF SAID MUZZLE END AND SELF-ERECTING FROM THAT POSITION, A PAIR OF END COVERS, A STRAP HAVING LENGTHWISE ELASTICITY AND INCLUDING A CONNECTION WITH EACH OF SAID COVERS, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID STRAP AND SAID BREECH END COVERS BEING A HOOK DETACHABLY CAUGHT ON THE EDGE THEREOF, A PULL-PIN BETWEEN SAID BREECH COVER AND SAID FIRST SECTION OPPOSING THE STRAP RESILIENCY IN A ZONE OF SAID BREECH COVER DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE TO ITS CONNECTION WITH SAID STRAP, SAID SIGHT BEING FREED WHEN SAID PULL-PIN IS REMOVED AND SAID BREECH COVER IS OPEN THUS TO FREE SAID STRAP AND SAID MUZZLE COVER. 